Tuesday, July 31, 2012

This installment of the Preferred Enemies will deal with the Special choice for the Orcs and Goblins army, the Black Orcs. The Black Orcs, the slave race to the Chaos Dwarfs in ages past now the elite shock troops of the Orcs and Goblin army. The unit possesses excellent stats, armor, weapons and abilities that mark them a step above the rest of the units in the Orcs and Goblins army. The Black Orcs are a difficult enemy to break and even more difficult to engage with normal Wood Elf shenanigans.

The Black Orc Special unit provides the Orcs and Goblins army with a very tough anvil for its opponent to smash against while also serving as an absolutely brutal hammer that can cut through anything when they need to. This is an extremely versatile unit that provides any Orcs and Goblins general with a lot of battlefield flexibility and tactical advantage. This type of flexibility makes it difficult for a Wood Elf general to properly engage this type of unit since it is able to change its designation and function on the fly.

First and foremost here is the stat line and special abilities of a Black Orc:Movement: 4Weapon Skill: 4Ballistic Skill: 3 Strength: 4Toughness: 4Wounds: 1Initiative: 2Attacks: 1Leadership: 8

Equipment: Hand Weapon, Heavy Armor

Special Rules: Immune to Psychology, Armed to da Teef, Choppas

Black Orcs are all Immune to Psychology and Leadership 8 which means that the advantages that Wood Elves normally have on opponents such as Fear and Terror causing units, ability to cause Panic tests at range and march blocking using fliers is less effective due to their high leadership. Not many Wood Elf players realize that one of the chief tactics that still proves to be one of the most effective methods is disruption and confusion. Causing Panic tests outside close combat is very useful, especially if you are being set up for a multi-charge in another round. Having units that are immune to psychology means that they won’t flee when another unit flees through them, nor will the have their Weapon Skill reduced to 1 for having to fail a Fear test. This special rule however does provide canny Wood Elf generals with another tactical option which will be discussed later.

The Choppas rule is absolutely brutal to any army that has to deal with Orcs in hand to hand combat. The Choppas rule states that in the first round of combat that the Orcs gain +1 Strength. Therefore a standard Orc goes from Strength 3 to Strength 4 and a Black Orc would then go from four to five. This offensive edge provides the Orcs with a little bit of offensive bite when they are charged or they charge an opponent but in regards to the Black Orcs, it makes any opponent in close combat suffer a barrage of at least Strength 5 attacks in the first round. When the elite monstrous infantry of the Wood Elf army is Strength 5 and Toughness 5, having a unit that can wound them on 4’s is a bit worrisome. This special ability also synergizes with another option that the Black Orcs get which will be explained below.

The Armed to da Teef special rules is an incredibly versatile rule that allows Black Orcs to change their form and function on the fly. This special rule states that the Black Orc player is allowed to choose to use a hand weapon and shield (provided they paid the 1 pt upgrade for one), two hand weapons or a great weapon at the beginning of the first round of close combat. So a Black Orc could be using two hand weapons in the one combat then in the subsequent combats he may decide that he wants a bigger punch and uses great weapons instead. This is also very helpful when you are facing low toughness/armor opponents or high toughness/armor opponents, especially since the first round of combat will always yield the Black Orcs +1 Strength. Against the lower toughness and armor the Black Orc player may choose to double the attacks and use two hand weapons at Strength 5, yet against opponents like Treekin or Knights of Chaos the same player may choose to boost the unit’s strength to 7 and wound on 2’s and provide a -4 to their armor save.

So how does a Wood Elf general deal with a unit that is immune to psychology and can reduce their elite monstrous infantry to kindling?

Synergy!

Let’s review the basics in relation to Wood Elf advantages and options:

Black Orcs are limited to a movement rate of 4” vs. the Wood Elves basic rate of 5”.

Black Orcs are immune to psychology so they must hold against all charges and are immune to all leadership based tests like Fear, Terror, and Panic.

Black Orcs possess no ranged attacks.

Black Orcs have no parry save unless they paid the extra point for a shield.

Black Orcs initiative is a 2 which means that it will be striking after everything in the Wood Elf army except a Treeman or great weapon wielding characters.

Black Orcs have an armor save of 5+ with a Toughness of 4.

Black Orcs at a minimum will be Strength 5 during the first round of combat always.

Black Orcs have a minimum unit size of 10 with no real maximum size other than the 50% Special unit allocation limit, meaning the Black Orc unit(s) can be very large.

Black Orcs are able to take a Magical Standard of up to 50 points.

The Black Orcs are very susceptible to shooting and units with ward saves. The Glade Guard Longbows are Strength 4 at short range meaning that they are wounding on 4’s and reducing the armor save of the Black Orcs to 6+. If a Wood Elf general is able to reduce the unit size by shooting and magic, the Dryads are a good option for engaging Black Orcs in the flank. The issue with dealing with Black Orcs is that they are able to punish whoever charges them fairly effectively due to their ability to change weapons and gain the +1 Strength. The best option when engaging the Black Orcs is either from the flank or rear and even then with heavily augmented infantry.

The Black Orcs are also very susceptible to multi-charges since they are not able to choose Flee as a charge reaction. So if a Wood Elf general is able to maneuver appropriately, the Black Orcs generally suffer a rear and a flank charge and will suffer some fairly heavy casualties.

The Black Orcs require a Wood Elf General to definitely make difficult decisions when deciding what units to use when engaging them in close combat.

Wild Riders of Kurnous are an excellent unit to engage the Black Orcs in the flank due to their Strength 5 on the first round of combat and their high weapon skill and initiative will allow them to inflict heavy casualties before the Black Orcs can strike back. The Black Orcs even with using two hand weapons only need 2’s to wound the Wild Riders of Kurnous still have to deal with the Wild Rider’s 5+ Ward save.

Dryads provide a good flank support as well; they are Strength 4 and Toughness 4 so they have staying power provided they survive the first round of attacks. Their main contribution is the 5+ ward save much like the Wild Riders of Kurnous.

Treekin are a difficult choice when dealing with the Black Orc unit. Treekin are Strength 5 and Toughness 5 so they are generally stronger and tougher than the Black Orcs but due to the ability to change weapons and also the Choppa rule, the high toughness of the Treekin is essentially negated because at worst the Black Orcs hit on 4’s and wound on 4’s in the first round which reduces the Treekin’s armor save to a 6+ then a 5+ ward save. Granted when the Treekin swing the Black Orcs will have no armor save but the Treekin are only really a flank charge unless augmented.

The Treeman and Treeman Ancient are not the optimal choice to engage Black Orcs either since they will either swing at the same time as Black Orcs and be wounded on 5’s or swing before the Black Orcs and have the Black Orcs wound them on 3’s. The Black Orcs will generally switch to great weapons and swing against the Treemen at Strength 7 which negates the 3+ armor save the Treemen possess and the Treeman has to rely only on his 5+ Ward save. The only real option is to flank charge the Black Orcs and hope that they miss a lot.

The Eternal Guard are an interesting option. The unit being Strength 3 and Toughness 3 means that Black Orcs will generally use two hand weapons against them and attempt to smash through the unit. Unless this unit is properly augmented, it is not recommended that you engage the Black Orcs with this unit (and definitely not from the front). The number of casualties that the Eternal Guard would suffer makes them a difficult choice to commit to fighting the Black Orcs without some sort of synergy involved.

The Black Orc unit requires the Wood Elf general to use some rather creative combinations in order to combat their effectiveness on the battlefield. Some of the tactics involve completely ignoring the unit and handling other priorities first.

Isolate the Black Orcs and leave them unsupported by other units - The Black Orc unit despite being tough and fairly difficult to kill, will not stand up well when it receives multiple charges. In an Orcs and Goblin army however, it is rather difficult to set up a multi-charge when there are over a dozen units on the field. If a Wood Elf general is able to cause panic tests and cause the units around the Black Orcs to flee, then that leaves the Black Orcs unsupported and isolated from the rest of the army. Orcs and Goblin deployment zones are generally very populated and as a result, it tends to be very easy to cause chain panic tests in the units that usually surround Black Orcs. This tactic obviously fails when there is an army full of Frenized Savage Orcs but that’s a tactics article for another day.

Focus firing on the Black Orc unit with short range Glade Guard fire and Waywatchers is an excellent way of killing the unit. The Glade Guard are able to hit on 3’s and wound on 4’s. A 6+ armor save should cause several casualties and the Waywatchers landing Lethal Shot will autoremove Black Orcs on a to wound roll of 6.

Dweller’s Below has a decent chance of removing a good chunk of casualties but the real muscle that Wood Elves are able to employ is through their augments.

Throne of Vines combined with Flesh to Stone provides the Wood Elf general with either elves that are Toughness 7, Treekin that are Toughness 9 or Treemen that are Toughness 10. In addition to augmenting the unit engaged with Flesh to Stone, using Shield of Thorns will also prove to be very effective since its adding additional hits/wounds before blows are struck.

Positioning and charges are incredibly important when battling the Black Orcs unit. It is more important to slam into this unit from the flank and rear (flank more importantly if it’s a larger unit or a horde). Minimizing the amount of attacks the Black Orcs are able to swing back with is very important – especially when it may be either Strength 5 or Strength 7 attacks. Wood elves have various high movement rate units so positioning and maneuvering should be fairly easy to accomplish as long as the Wood Elf general is able to properly isolate the Black Orcs and not leave his units exposed.

The use of redirectors can be dicey since Black Orcs have a fairly good chance of wiping out the unit entirely then just combat reforming in the desired direction. If there is a unit that has been properly augmented and they aren’t wiped out in close combat on the charge, then the Black Orcs can be left out of position for several turns or be easily rear/flank charged by other Wood Elf units.

In essence, the Black Orc unit is an excellent of example of how important it is for a Wood Elf general to make use of every weapon in his or her arsenal. If the Black Orcs are to be engaged in close combat then the unit taking the most punishment needs to be augmented appropriately. When the Wood Elf general wishes to kill the unit via ranged supremacy, the options like Hail of Doom Arrow, Dweller’s Below, Transformation of Kadon and focused archery fire are key. The Black Orc unit will punish whatever other units charge into combat with them, but if a Wood Elf general has properly whittled down the unit with archery and magic then the effectiveness of the Black Orcs diminishes when engaged in close combat.

How to deal with Black Orcs synergy and combat combinations:

Black Orcs with Flaming Banner – the best option is to honestly shoot this unit to death. You do not want any unit that could potentially nullify your monstrous heavy infantry and monster’s armor saves making them rely solely on a 5+ ward save. If you must engage this unit in close combat then make sure they are properly augmented by Flesh to Stone (Throne of Vines version) and perhaps Shield of Thorns (Throne of Version) in order to grant the unit some added punch before the first swing.

Black Orcs with the Razor Standard – this makes the unit slightly harder to death with since the first round of combat will grant a -3 to armor saves using two hand weapons or -5 if the Black Orcs are using great weapons. As mentioned above, the best method is to focus fire on this unit and reduce it to the unit size that it can be easily slain in close combat. I also recommend reviewing the advice provided in the last number.

Black Orcs with a Black Orc Hero/Lord – whenever you add a character to an elite unit such as Black Orcs, then a sense of urgency or importance gets added to that unit. There are a few specific ways to deal with a unit that possess a character

A.If the character is the General then you nuke that unit from outer space. Orcs without high and strong leaderships tend to fall apart and panic easily. The method in which you deal with this unit does not differ than you would deal with a stand unit like this. You would focus fire until there is nothing left o the model.

B.If the character is the Battle Standard Bearer, it is increasingly important to kill the entire unit and remove the ability to get leadership rerolls for this army. Again I recommend focus firing and avoiding the unit until its small enough to deal with in small sections.

Black Orc Horde – When dealing with the Horde formation of Black Orcs, it becomes imperative to decide upon the course of action on how to deal with the unit from the beginning. Wood elf players may either avoid the horde the entire game, then in the final phase then shoot up the horde until it dies. The Wood Elf army has the mobility to avoid bigger, slower units and unload tremendous amounts of firepower when they are finally in position. The Wood elf players may also maneuver units until they are within short range and unload into the Black Orcs, round after round, until substantial casualties have been made and the unit is small enough to multi-charge and wipe out or be Dweller’d. It is not recommended that a Wood Elf general engage a Black Orc horde with a frontal charge even if that unit is augmented with Flesh to Stone and is a unit of Treekin. That is not to say that the unit can’t be charged but unless you can get multiple charges off and surround the unit, it’s going to be difficult to cut through this unit.

The primary method to deal with the Black Orc Special selection of the Orcs and Goblins army is to rely heavily on ranged firepower and offensive spells until it is weak enough that it can be defeated in close combat by units that have been heavily augmented by defensive spells. Wood Elf generals have to employ a lot of guile and tactical acumen when dealing with this unit otherwise it can and will just scythe through the army without stopping.

I hope this Preferred Enemies edition provides helpful advice and an accurate and effective method of handling and dealing with the Orcs and Goblin Special selection of the Black Orcs.

Friday, July 27, 2012

This installment of the Preferred Enemies will deal with the Special choice for the Dark Elf army, the Black Guard of Naggarond.The Black Guard of Naggarond serve as Malkith’s trusted enforcers and bodyguards and they enjoy his favor in Dark Elf society.The Black Guard of Naggarond are an elite unit that rather define the arrogance and martial supremacy of the Dark Elf army book.The unit possesses excellent stats, armor, weapons and abilities that mark them a step above most other elite infantry units in the game.

Unlike other armies where you have a standardized higher strength and toughness but lower initiative, Dark Elves share the same stat line as a Wood Elf providing an interesting situation for a Wood Elf general to have to deal with on the battlefield.

First and foremost here is the stat line and special abilities of a Dark Elf Black Guard of Naggarond:Movement:5Weapon Skill:5Ballistic Skill:4Strength:3(4)Toughness:3Wounds:1Initiative:6Attacks:2Leadership:9

The Black Guard of Naggarond possess a high Movement much like their Wood Elf brethren which provides them with a march option of 10” and a 17” charge range.The unit employs a Weapon Skill of 5 which means they hit most units on 3’s and they wield halberds which increases their Strength of 3 to a 4 which means they are employing a roll of 4 to wound against many units and have a -1 to their opponents’ armor saves.The unit’s Initiative of 6 means that they are striking before 90% of the units in the game and a goodly portion of the heroes and lords of other books.In addition to the high movement, weapon skill and initiative; the Black Guard of Naggarond also have a Leadership of 9 and employ 2 attacks per model.

The Black Guard of Naggarond possess an excellent combination of special abilities which make them truly fearsome to deal with in close combat.The unit being Immune to Psychology means that they don’t suffer Panic attacks or Fear/Terror tests which negate some of the advantages and tactics for dealing with elite units that Wood Elf generals employ.The fact that the unit is Stubborn means that regardless of if they lose combat or not, they are rolling against their base Leadership of 9 for Break tests.The real scary ability of the Black Guard is the Warrior Elite special rule which the Black Guard may re-roll any failed to hit rolls in close combat.Increasing the number of successful hits the Black Guard can get then take into account that against most Wood Elf units that the Black Guard will need 3’s to wound (Toughness 3 models) and against some of the tougher units like Dryads and Treekin they will need 4’s and 5’s.The Black Guard of Naggarond are also able to take a magical banner of up to 50 points.The special abilities really employ an effective mixture of abilities that capitalize on their elite stat line.

How is a Wood Elf general able to deal with a unit that is able to negate most of the Wood Elf advantages?

Let’s review the basics in relation to Wood Elf advantages and options:

The Black Guard of Naggarond are Toughness 3 and have a 5+ armor save.

The Black Guard of Naggarond are limited to a unit size of 5-20 models.

The Black Guard of Naggarond have to hold against ALL charges.

The Black Guard of Naggarond have no ranged attacks.

The Black Guard have no parry save so Str 5 negates any save.

The Black Guard are very susceptible to Strength 4 shooting.This elite unit will suffer against the short ranged Glade Guard Longbows.The Strength 4 longbows will reduce the armor save to a 6+ and will reduce the unit size dramatically so that it can be charged with a larger and tougher unit in close combat if it is not destroyed by shooting.

The Black Guard are also very susceptible to high strength units with high toughness.If a Wood Elf general is able to reduce the unit size via shooting, then Dryads and Treekin do rather well against Black Guard.The Dryads strike at the same initiative and while needing 4’s to hit will only need 3’s to wound and will reduce the Armor save to a 6+ and the unit will get their ward save so the Strength modification to armor from the halberds doesn’t really factor in.The Treekin are a good counter if they are able to weather the storm of the Black Guard attacks, the Treekin armor save gets reduced to a 5+ and they still get their 5+ ward save but will need 4’s to hit in close combat and only 2’s to wound.The nice advantage that Treekin have is that they can slay Black Guard outright and then follow up with a Stomp attack.Wild Riders are ideal if you are able to get a flank charge since they will force the Black Guard to need 4’s to hit but only 3’s to wound and only grant the Wild Riders a 6+ armor and their ward save.The Treeman will do well against the Black Guard since at best the Black Guard need 4’s to hit and 6’s to wound and the Treeman’s save get’s reduced to 4+ rather than it’s standard 3+.

The Eternal Guard are not recommended as a viable unit to engage with the Black Guard of Naggarond.The Eternal Guard have almost identical stats with the exception that the Black Guard are initiative 6.The Black Guard are able to strike first and only need 3’s to wound and will reduce the Eternal Guard to a 6+ save.The amount of casualties that the Eternal Guard would suffer does not necessarily make the Eternal Guard the best option for fighting the Black Guard.

The Black Guard of Naggarond are very susceptible to multi-charges since they are not able to choose Flee as a charge reaction.So if a Wood Elf general is able to maneuver appropriately, the Black Guard generally suffer a frontal and a flank charge and will suffer some fairly heavy casualties.

How to deal with Black Guard of Naggarond synergy and combat combinations:

Black Guard of Naggarond with Flaming Banner – the best option is to shoot this unit to death with the Glade Guard at short range then engage with the Dryads (preferably augmented with Stone to Flesh and Shield of Thorns).

Black Guard of Naggarond with Razor Standard – essentially the same tactic as the Flaming Banner only avoid sending in Treekin and Wild Riders since they will suffer more wounds due to armor save modification.

Character such as a Master or Dreadlord in the unit – when the Black Guard are used as a character bunker then it becomes imperative to reduce the unit size using ranged attacks but also it is advised that if you charge the unit then do so with either a Treeman Ancient w/ Annoyance of Netlings or use an Eagle Rider/Alter to minimize the effectiveness of the unit.Generally it is best to use spells like Dweller’s Below and follow up with massed Glade Guard shooting to destroy the unit.

Black Guard of Naggarond with Mind Razor – the best advice for this unit depends on the situation:

If already engaged in close combat – pray that you are using Dryads since you’re only going to get your ward save against Strength 10 attacks.Otherwise your Treeman or Treekin are going to probably get vaporized beneath the cuisinart that are the Black Guard with Mind Razor in close combat.

If you are not engaged in close combat – avoid this unit like the plague and shoot it and Dweller’s Below it until the cows come home.

Black Guard of Naggarond joined by a Death Hag with Witchbrew – while this doesn’t really affect the way the unit functions with the exception that there are no bonuses for flank and rear charges and the unit still gets its rank bonuses if disruption would normally apply.The best idea to handle this type of unit is to just shoot the unit to death then slam into a flank to reduce the number of attacks coming from the unit.

Black Guard of Naggarond augmented by the Cauldron of Blood

Fury of Khaine – Black Guard of Naggarond having 3 base attacks is not only dreadful to face as detailed above but will ensure that the unit will punish whatever unit dared to engage it into combat. – Whenever this unit has this augment the only thing you can do is hope that either you were out of range of charges or that you had augmented the unit being charged previously with Stone to Flesh and Shield of Thorns.You will more than likely suffer many, many casualties as the unit turns into a blender (God help you if the unit is also Mind Razored)

Strength of Khaine – Black Guard of Naggarond granted Killing Blow doesn’t really affect Wood Elf units that badly since the only models that would really suffer would be Wild Riders or Eternal Guard.The Wild Riders would still get their Ward Save and generally Eternal Guard shouldn’t be in combat with Black Guard (unless their Highborn has the Rhymer’s Harp for the 5+ ward).

Bloodshield of Khaine – Black Guard of Naggarond given a 5+ ward save makes the unit extremely difficult to deal with since they suddenly become fairly resilient to shooting and in close combat against higher strength units they are not autoremoved by strength 5.The best option is to get a flank or rear charge against this unit and just continue to grind against it until the unit finally breaks.Augmenting the engaged unit with Stone to Flesh or Wyssan’s WIldform is recommended, if you are able then applying the Shield of Thorns is also helpful since it’ll make the unit roll dice.This blessing is probably the most difficult to deal with and the only advice that can be offered is to shoot it until it engages you then ensure your units are augmented appropriately.

Black Guard of Naggarond with Assassins hidden in the unit – unless you are lucky and manage to slay the entire unit via ranged firepower or spells, then you will have to suck it up and face the hidden assassin in close combat and hopefully smash it with your high strength and high toughness monstrous infantry or dryads.

Black Guard of Naggarond augmented with Lore of Fire or Metal – essentially the same tactics when fighting Black Guards augmented with Lore of Shadow except that you will want to ensure that you augment your engaged units as much as possible.

The primary tactic when facing Black Guard of Naggarond is to avoid close combat and use ranged attacks and spells to slay the unit.When facing Dark Elves there are several units that are better options to engage in close combat (Spearmen, Crossbowmen, Shades, Corsairs,etc..) while you use the other tools in your bag to deal with the elite unit that is known as the Black Guard of Naggarond.

I hope this Preferred Enemies edition provides helpful advice and an accurate and effective method of handling and dealing with the Dark Elf Special selection of the Black Guard of Naggarond.

So moving forward I'll begin to add to the Strategy and Tactics library and hopefully fully flesh out the entire army by the time the new book comes out for Wood Elves which will invalidate all the articles I have written =).

Monday, July 16, 2012

So, I've decided that I will paint each knight one at a time. It allows me to do a better job and really customize each knight.

So here's the first Knight of the Realm I completed step by step.

I first laid out the entire unit (minus metal BSB model which I'm using for KoTR standard bearers).

I also assembled the metal Bretonnian Battle Standard Bearer model to serve as the regular unit Standard Bearer for the following reasons:1. The kit comes with 8 Knights not 9 2. I really liked the model and wanted to use it.3. Cause it is bad ass. Do I really need to justify that reason? I had to use a brass rod to serve as the standard bearer's pole and pin that and his arm to the model's body. I would like to point out it took relatively no time with the Dremel Stylus.

As you can see here I began the annoying task of making sure the horses ranked up appropriately. You would be amazed how poorly they do.

I next assembled all the models and made sure it all fit before making any final decisions.

Here is the first Knight of the Realm all primerered with Grey Primer. I chose Grey to not only differentiate from the Black primer but to also improve my painting skills and experiment with the colour pallet a bit.

As you can see here I took the model and gave it a nice wash with Badab Black (Nuln Oil) and made sure that I got the wash into the recesses.

After the wash I first used the Leadbelcher base paint to paint on the metallic armor and rivets. This went surprisingly fast.

The next step is to paint all the leather and dark skin with Rhinox Hide base.

I then used multiple thin coats to get the Ceramite white to actually show without leaving splotches.

The next stop on this color train is the Mephiston Red base that as you can tell looked very, very good. Definitely one of my favorite colors.

Next I chose the Averlund Sunset base paint and painted the lance, his pants and the borders with the yellow paint.

After the red I chose to highlight the metal armor that was about to be partially covered up. I chose the Necron Compound dry paint and I have to say, the new Dry paints are pretty amazing.

After a bit of cleaning up I then freehanded a blade and declared the Knight complete (for now).

Hopefully this will provide someone with a bit of insight into the chaotic maelstrom that is my head. 1 Knight of the Realm to go, only 43 Knights and Heroes to go!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

So I've started painting the Bretonnians and I have to say I'm not 100% pleased with the first unit of Knights of the Realm. I didn't have a concrete paint scheme down and as a result I think that I may have some issues when I get to the horses. That said however, they are coming along pretty well and they may actually look good when I'm done!

I'm also 95% done with my Bretonnian Paladin on a Pegasus. I just have to do some minor highlights, make the words on his blade glow blue and we're good to go.

I decided to just order a variety of magnetic bases from Shogun Miniatures and use the standard GW bases for this army. I don't want to be in a position where I am delayed in painting an army because I'm waiting on resin bases to arrive.

Anyway here are the WIP shots:

Next up is the updated summer/fall Project Log:

1. Assemble and paint the Bretonnians (only like 2600 or so points left after this unit is done...)

2. Assemble and paint 2000 points of Dark Eldar. I have decided to go with Dark Eldar for the following reasons:

a. The Eldar codex is in need of updating and I really would like to make some major changes to the army and I do not want to go to all that trouble (translated: Spend a shit ton of money getting jetbikes) to update the army when they might be getting new plastics.

b. The Eldar army I wish to run uses Forge World models and I need the update to be published before I can start ordering/compiling.

c. The Dark Eldar have an updated and new codex and their playstyle fits mine very well.

d. I haven't decided what exactly I wish to have in a 2000 point Eldar list just yet =).

3. Assemble and paint 1000 points of Space Wolves using the Bran Redmaw's Company as the theme.

4. Assemble and paint 500-1000 points of the Carcharodons with Tyberos the Red Wake as HQ.

5. Assemble and paint 500-1000 points of the Minotaurs chapter with Lord Asterion Moloc and Chaplain Ivanus Enkomi in the list.

6. Paint the Black Templar Command Squad and write up an updated 6th edition army list for the Black Templars.

7. Paint the remaining 15 points of Retribution of Scyrah to get the army to 50 pts.

8. Assemble and paint 50 points of Circle Orboros.

9. Finish assembling and painting the Fantasy terrain in my closet so I can fully utilize the garage for some serious GARAGEHAMMER!

Anyway that's the plan... let's see how much I get done before Winter!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Here is the first of what will be many WIP posts regarding the Bretonnian army I have started and will hopefully have finished by the time my children are born. (I've got til December, so I better gear up!) This model I started at 9:30pm and I finished for what I am calling a good stopping point at 2:00 am. I am anticipating each Knight and Character taking about 6-8 hours based on the level of detail and freehand I will be attempting to pull off with this army.

Anyway here is the first WIP for the Bretonnia Project.

The first image is the converted Black Templar Emperor's Champion model that I hacked off at the waist and stuck to a Knight's legs. The conversion worked perfectly for the image of "The Black Knight" that I wanted in the army. I used a modified Parravon heraldry for his colors and the other Pegasus Knights will probably follow the same pattern.Pics!:

I will be figuring out the basing scheme shortly and then also doing some more highlights, gluing the knight to his steed and then finally attaching the transfers.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

OFCC has come and gone which means that it is now time to begin the process of assembling and painting next year's army. I have decided to complete the circle and play Bretonnia. I have chosen Bretonnia because of both the book "Knights of Bretonnia" and also "Guardians of the Forest" which all combine the elements of Wood Elves, Beastmen and Bretonnia. Anyway, everything has been ordered and it is en route so updates soon to follow as I assemble and begin perhaps the most daunting task ever of painting Bretonnians!

Here's the list I'll be building:2800 Pts - Bretonnia Roster - The Riders of Twilight, Host of the Storm Warder